Cortex
Background Nothing is known for certain about Cortex origins, as he has never shared details of his past and he is such an unique case that there no other basis for which to speculate on where he came from or when he came to be. To make matters more difficult, few, who still remain alive today, have seen him until the past year, and even then it is usually only in passing. Most likely, Cortex was a silithid who evolved beyond its own species with the ability to control minds, usually those of other silithids and beetles. There have been other theories tossed around, by whom it is unclear, but all are equally possible given Cortex's unusual status. One theory is that the silithid form of Cortex is just a shell, a host body that the larger brain is using for transport and protection. This is supported by the overly large nature of the brain and the poor support the silithid body gives it. However, this could also be due to Cortex's shell appearing to have been badly damaged, leaving the brain exposed. This could still have been a result of the transplant of the brain into the bug. Appearance For the most part, Cortex resembles most silithids, save for a few details that allow him to stand out from the swarm. His hell is a deep purple with his mandibles and spear like appendages being colored red. Most noticably, Cortex's dome like shell has been greatly damaged, either intentionally or accidentaly, forcing his brain to be exposed to the elements. In any other situation, this would be a fatal turn of events for a creature, but Cortex has defied the odds by not only surviving, but never actually finding a way to conceal his brain. It's possible that the secret to his power is the exposed nature of his brain - a shell possibly would block whatever signals he transmits from his brain. ((The following information is to be presented in short story format. Enjoy!)) A Way Out Two weeks. They had been drowning for two weeks and time was running out for the others. They didn't know what brought about the great flood that submerged all of Thousand Needles, but they were at least keen enough to know it was coming. For months the leader of the hive, a being of no real name that can be put into words, only pheromones, but would be known as Cortex, knew of some coming fissure to the planet. The silithids were always burrowing into the earth, and so knew when the ground was crying out. Although he had no idea what manner of disaster would come to their hive, Cortex still planned for every possible outcome. One such scenario did occur - a massive flood. Being burrowed into the ground, the hive was very vunerable to even the smallest of floods. So for weeks the collective community of creatures focused their efforts into plugging up every opening in the hive. When the flood came, the efforts were for naught, and many were lost in the initial hit. Still, the bugs deemed more valuable had found refugee in the sections of the hive that were built into the surrounding mountainside; but it was still below the flood water height. It was just a matter of time before the water reached the high chambers. The worker bugs had been lost in the first day, so there was no way to dig higher to avoid the flood. Cortex ordered the surviving silithids to use their own bodies to plug up the holes, keeping the waters back and sacrificing themselves to his survival. More and more bugs were sent to their death, unable to fight the mental orders Cortex gave them. He controlled their every function and movement, and when they were securely locked in place, mandibles and legs linked together to form a temporary wall, he released his hold on them. They would become aware of the situation for the first time in years, finally free of Cortex's mental grasp. And in their few moments of conciousness, they drowned in the rising waters. The first emotion they had felt in years was fear. Despite his morbid tactics, the waters rose and rose, carrying the corpses of his forgotten workers. He didn't want it to end like this. There was still so much to do. The hive was so close to reaching Uldum, nearly finished creating the tunnels under the mountains that kept Uldum from the rest of the world. As the waters began to rise up around his claws, that's all he could think of - there was so much more he had to do. And then the waters enveloped him. He surrounded himself with a protective mental bubble, but creating a hard surface out of pure mental energy is not easy to do, let alone sustain. Cortex was carried through the many chambers, seeing all the drowned bugs around him, some bumping against his shield as he floated. He felt nothing. Soon, the mental strain became too much, and the bubble disappated and Cortex was left to drown like the others. "What a simple way to go," he thought. "I had imagined something more dramatic, worthy of a story. Defeated by a band of warriors at the apex of my plans. Or usurped by a close advisor years after my rise to power. The Titans returning to undo what I would have done, or the Old Gods doing the same. But this? It's so...pedestrian." In the midst of his reflection, in the haze of his near death, a savior happened upon him. Cortex, the one being least deserving of preservation, was snatched up from the brink of his demise by a blue skinned humanoid. Cortex had never seen such a creature, and he didn't have the mental strength to search her mind for any information. Normally he would force this creature to carry him out, or sacrifice herself somehow to save him. He was lucky he didn't need to, as the draenei was already pulling him to safety. Upon reaching dry land, Cortex regained his composure and then studied the dusky blue haired woman. An odd creature, he thought. Tall, with sky blue skin. Her legs bent back like an animal's, and he spotted a tail as well. Some sort of hybrid? The perverted offspring of an orc and a plainstrider? Unlikely, but still the woman had saved him, and now, of all things, was trying to...tame him? Her actions were strange, but he recognized them as a hunter's attempt to gain a creature's trust to bring them into their employ. He was far too aware to be taken in so easily, but it offered a good opportunity to find refuge from the drowned desert and a possible continuation to his plan. His savior was a draenei huntress named Ellaena, the unwitting escort to Cortex's sinister agenda. Unknown Revelations ...Cortex was unclear on the events that had led up to the current situation he was in, and while he could have scanned the memories of those around him to determine the fallen dominoes, he cared so little for events that did not concern himself that he couldn't be bothered to. However, now, it seemed the dominoes had fallen towards him. Two months had passed since he brought Ellaena into his employ, and in those two months he had veiled her perception of him just enough that she would not be alarmed by his appearance or persuaded by those around her that he was a very odd creature indeed. Since the flooding of Thousand Needles, he had seen a clear drop in his strength of mind, and so he could not very well control Ellaena outright. Instead he had planted suggestions, directed her as best he could to lead him back to Uldum, back to his prize. Ellaena, however, proved to be of a rather strong will, and while she could be led to water, she often stopped to enjoy the sights; and Cortex was just getting thirstier by the day. Now, it seemed, a pitfall had appeared before them. Below the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind, in the dank crypts, Ellaena had gone to meet an investigator for the city of Stormwind, attempting to find the cause behind a series of murders. Cortex surveyed the man, this Dertren Hines, now bleeding from the gut and struggling to explain what led him to this point, and could only feeling a sense of disgust about the creature. Pitiful, fleshy, beings that strut with an unearned sense of dominance and privledge. If Cortex could chuckle, he would. The situation only grew more interesting, as a rogue unblended herself from the shadows to reveal herself to Ellaena. Introducing herself as Emise Godwen, the rogue was clearly ready to kill again, and Ellaena, the good girl she was, instinctively was prepared to do the same in the name of "justice". As amusing as watching two bipeds fight to the death was, Cortex couldn't risk losing Ellaena to this bout nor could he allow any more interruptions. Like flipping a switch, Cortex put Ellaena into a temporary coma. The draenei incapacitated, Cortex could put his focus on speaking to Emise in her own mind. He explained how he was currently using the draenei, and the rogue, should she wish to make it out of the crypt, would have to agree to allow him to do the same. Cortex revealed as little as possible, only that he had bigger plans in store, and would need Emise to help remove a constant distraction: a paladin named Erebus'mal. All throughout the two months, Ellaena made constant stops in Redridge to visit her mate, a fellow draenei she called simply "Erebus." The large wielder of light mostly ignored Cortex, though, like others, had expressed his unease around the bug. While the two satisfied each other's physical needs, and the paladin gave her everything she ever needed, Cortex would always pick up on a sense of restlessness in Ellaena's mind. She was adventurous, constantly moving, and here Erebus was - an achor disallowing her from traveling too far away lest she lose touch. As stated before, Cortex couldn't control Ellaena outright in his current state, force her to break ties with Erebus. Even mental suggestion wasn't enough to convince her to sever her ties with the draenei. He needed someone to aid him in his goal to remove Erebus from the picture, and Emise presented herself as a perfect candidate. As luck would have it, Emise worked with Erebus on some engineering project, which kept him in Redridge. He instructed the rogue to work her own deceptive charms to push Ellaena away from Erebus. Erebus couldn't die, as his death would only distress Ellaena to the point of never leaving to Uldum in time. He revealed to Emise Ellaena's desire to keep moving, and wished Erebus would join her but couldn't tear him away from his important work. She would need to play on that doubt of Ellaena's, to convince her that a relationship with Erebus wasn't right for her and had to leave. Emise agreed to enact Cortex's manipulation, and both left the crypts (after, of course, Cortex brought Ellaena back to conciousness and erased the small memory she had of Emise confronting her). It may take yet more time to move to the next stage of his plans, but at least now the timeline was more to his liking... Draenei Wrench ((coming soon)) Forge of Worlds ((coming soon)) The Unfinished God ((coming soon))